India GST E-Invoice Checklist (Free, PDF/Excel)

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13 critical items still open - these are the highest-risk gaps.

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Applicability and scope

Confirmed aggregate turnover (PAN level) against the notified e-invoicing threshold for any financial year since 2017-18CRITICALChecked whether your GSTIN falls under an exempt class such as SEZ units, insurers, banks, NBFCs, GTAs or passenger transportListed every GSTIN under the same PAN, because turnover is aggregated across themCRITICALIdentified supply types that need an IRN: B2B, supplies to SEZ, exports, deemed exportsConfirmed that B2C invoices are outside IRN generation but may need a dynamic QR code for very large taxpayersNoted that credit notes and debit notes issued against B2B invoices are also reported to the IRPCRITICALDocumented who in finance owns the monitoring of the turnover threshold each year

Master data readiness

Customer GSTINs validated for format and active status before invoicingCRITICALCustomer legal name, address, pincode and state code stored in the format the IRP expectsHSN or SAC code present on every item and service, with the digit length required for your turnover bandCRITICALUnit of measure mapped to the GST UQC list (for example NOS, KGS, MTR)GST rate per item maintained and reviewed after each rate notificationPlace of supply logic tested for intra-state and inter-state casesCRITICALShip-to and dispatch-from addresses captured where they differ from billing details

Invoice data rules

Invoice number is unique per financial year and GSTIN, within the 16-character limit and permitted charactersCRITICALDocument type set correctly: invoice, credit note or debit noteInvoice date is not later than the date of IRN generation and follows the DD/MM/YYYY format in the payloadTaxable value, discount, tax amounts and invoice total reconcile within the rounding tolerance the IRP acceptsCRITICALReverse charge, e-commerce operator and other flags set only where they applyRound-off line handled as a separate field and not buried in item valuesPayload schema version in your ERP connector matches the version currently supported by the IRP

IRP integration and operations

IRP API credentials and authentication tokens stored securely, with a rotation processCRITICALChoice made between direct API integration, a GST Suvidha Provider or an offline toolIRN (64-character hash), acknowledgement number, date and signed QR code written back to the ERP invoice recordCRITICALPrinted invoice shows the QR code and IRNRetry logic in place for IRP downtime, with a manual fallback procedureDuplicate IRN response handled so the ERP does not create a second invoice for the same documentReporting time limit for your turnover band checked, with an alert before the window closesCRITICALEdits after IRN generation are blocked; the process is cancel and reissue

Cancellation, e-way bill and reconciliation

Cancellation window on the IRP understood, and the process for cancelling later through return amendments documentedCRITICALE-way bill generation linked to the IRN where goods move, so Part A data is not keyed twiceGSTR-1 data compared with IRP data each month before filingCRITICALExceptions report built for invoices raised but never reported to the IRPArchive of IRP responses retained for auditFinance and IT sign-off recorded after a test cycle in the sandbox environment

Critical items are the ones that most often cause a rejected IRN, a missed reporting window or a mismatch with GSTR-1. Thresholds and time limits are changed by notification, so confirm the current values on the GST portal before relying on this list.

Want your e-invoice exceptions report built from ERP data?

An optional review of your invoice tables to find documents not yet reported to the IRP.

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How to use this checklist

Work through the groups in order. Applicability comes first because the obligation depends on aggregate turnover at PAN level, not on one GSTIN. Master data comes next because most IRP rejections are caused by bad GSTINs, missing HSN codes or wrong state codes. Tick items as you confirm them, then export the result to PDF or Excel to share with your auditor or ERP partner. Use the critical flags to decide what to fix before go-live and what can wait for the next sprint.

What the IRP actually does

The IRP does not issue your invoice. Your ERP creates it, sends a JSON payload to the IRP, and the IRP validates it, generates an IRN and returns a digitally signed QR code. The IRN is a 64-character hash built from the supplier GSTIN, financial year, document type and document number. Because the hash depends on those four values, the same document cannot be registered twice. The reported data then flows automatically into the supplier's GSTR-1 and, for goods, can pre-fill the e-way bill.

IRN: 64-character hash of supplier GSTIN, year, type and number
Signed QR code must appear on the printed or PDF invoice
Registered data populates GSTR-1 for the supplier
Buyer sees the invoice in GSTR-2B after filing

Common mistakes

The most frequent failure is a taxable value or tax total that does not reconcile to the line items. Next is a customer GSTIN that is cancelled or in the wrong format. Teams also forget that credit notes against reportable invoices must be reported, and that an invoice cannot be edited after the IRN exists. Finally, many companies only discover that they have crossed the threshold when a customer rejects an invoice. Put the threshold check on the finance calendar, and build an exceptions report so unreported invoices are visible weekly, not at filing time.

ERP notes

SAP, Oracle, Infor, Epicor, Dynamics, Tally and Busy all offer either a native e-invoicing add-on or a certified connector. The checklist is vendor neutral, but each ERP has its own place to store the IRN and QR code, so confirm that the fields are added to the invoice header and the output form. Test credit notes, advance receipts and invoices with multiple tax rates in the sandbox before production. Keep a manual fallback for IRP downtime so dispatch is not blocked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who must issue e-invoices in India?

Registered persons whose aggregate turnover exceeded the notified threshold in any financial year from 2017-18 onward must report B2B, SEZ, export and deemed export invoices to the IRP. Some classes such as SEZ units, insurers, banks and GTAs are exempt. The threshold has been lowered in stages, so check the latest notification.

Is an e-invoice the same as a GST invoice?

No. The GST invoice is still created in your own software. E-invoicing is the extra step of reporting its data to the IRP so it can generate an IRN and QR code. The invoice is valid for ITC purposes only if it carries a valid IRN where e-invoicing applies to the supplier.

Can I edit an invoice after the IRN is generated?

No. Once an IRN exists, the invoice data is locked. If a mistake is found, cancel the IRN within the permitted window and issue a corrected invoice, or issue a credit note or debit note. Later corrections are handled through amendments in the GST returns.

Do B2C invoices need an IRN?

No, B2C invoices are outside IRN generation. Very large taxpayers must display a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices instead. Check whether this applies to your turnover band and whether your point of sale software supports the dynamic QR format.

If your ERP team is writing the IRP connector or the exceptions report, Netray can help build and test it, including read-only reconciliation against your invoice tables.

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India GST E-Invoice Checklist for Manufacturers